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Journal Writing Prompts
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Fusco’s English Class, 2012-2013
About My Name
• Many names have special meaning or
history. For example, the name Hannah
means “favor” or “grace.” The name Vito
means “life.”
• Write about your own name. Who named
you? What does your name mean? Does it
have a special ethnic or religious
significance? Are you named after
someone in your family? If you could
change your name, would you?
Code of Chivalry
• King Arthur of the Round Table is a heroic figure of English
legend. Arthur and his knights were said to live by a set of
beliefs known as the Code of Chivalry. A few rules of the
code include:
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Live one’s life so that it is worthy of respect and honor.
Life for freedom, justice and all that is good.
Be polite and attentive.
Never betray a confidence or a comrade.
Protect the innocent.
• Come up with a modern Code of Chivalry. Write a list of at
least 10 things people should do today to make modern
society more chivalrous- that is, more considerate and
courteous.
Childhood Memories
• Most people have vivid memories of
certain events from childhood. What
sticks in your mind? Pick one
particularly strong memory and
describe it in detail.
To Be Great
• Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said,
– “Everyone has the power for greatness, not for
fame, but greatness, because greatness is
determined by service.”
• Do you agree that everyone has the
potential for greatness? Maybe you think
serving others isn’t what makes someone
great; if that’s the case, what do you think
are the qualifying features of greatness?
My Own Private Utopia
• A utopia, according to Webster’s dictionary, is
“any place or state of ideal perfection.” One
person’s utopia might be a country where
discrimination does not exist and all lifestyles are
tolerated. Another person’s utopia might be a
huge city full of clubs, theaters and restaurants.
What is your idea of utopia? If you could design
the ideal society, what kind of laws would govern
it? What would it look like? What kind of people
would live there?
Everyday Heroes
• How do you define hero? Do you think
fame is an important component of
heroism, or do you think most heroes
are unknown? Is there anyone you
know personally whom you consider a
hero?
Personal Personification
• Personification is a literary device that gives a
nonliving object the characteristics of a living
thing. For example, a writer might say that the
wind sighs, the rain laughs, and the leaves
whisper. The poet Carl Sandburg wrote a poem
called “Fog” that begins with personification:
– “The fog comes on little cat feet.”
• Write a second line, rhymed or unrhymed, to
follow Sandburg’s line. For example:
– The fog comes on little cat feet,
– And creeps silently past my bedroom window.
Quirky Traditions
• A tradition is a special ritual shared by a
group of people. Families and groups of
friends practice traditions throughout the
year. These traditions might have to do
with holidays, celebrations, food, the
season, or quirky family practices that
have been passed down from generation to
generation. Is there a tradition that you
share with your family or friends?
Describe it.
My Animal
• Which animal do you think you resemble most
closely? Consider quiet, retiring animals like mice;
bold and fearless ones like lions; eager, friendly
ones like dogs; and finicky, secretive ones like
cats. Consider your appearance, your personality,
and the way you move. Then write about the
animal with which you feel a kinship, explaining
how you are similar in personality, characteristics
and/or physical features.
Treasure or Trash
• To the naked eye it looks like junk, but you
know it’s precious: the beat-up stuffed
animal you slept with every night as a kid,
the raggedy baseball mitt you used in
Little League, the tooth you couldn’t bear
to throw away after it fell out. Choose a
beloved object from your own childhood,
and explain why you feel sentimental about
it or treasure it so much.
Delivery
• You answer a knock at the door and
find a delivery guy holding a package
for you. You open it up and you
find…what? Describe the best
package you can imagine receiving.
Sibling Rivalry
• Growing up with brothers and sisters
can be difficult. If you have siblings,
discuss the benefits and
shortcomings of your situation. If
you’re an only child, do the same.
Would you rather have more siblings,
or fewer? Do you think you’ll feel the
same when you’re middle-aged?
What a Fright
• There’s “fun scary” (walking through a
haunted house, screaming through a horror
movie, riding a roller coaster) and then
there’s “scary scary” (being in a car
accident, getting caught in the ocean’s
riptide). Describe the scariest experience
you’ve ever had. Was it fun scary, or was it
really terrifying?
Ode to Object
• Poets of the romantic movement wrote
about nature in inspired, sometimes
melodramatic tones. Think of an element in
nature – something very simple, like a twig,
a blade of grass, or a ladybug. Then write
an ode of praise to this object, portraying
it as extraordinary and important.
The Perfect Day
• Describe a perfect day – not the one
you’d have if you were rich and
famous, but the one you could have
on this Saturday or Tuesday. What
day of the week would your perfect
day fall on? What would you do, see,
eat, read, watch?
Generation Gap
• Parents and children often claim to be
misunderstood by each other. Explain one
thing you think your parents (or other
people their age) don’t understand about
your generation. Then explain one thing
you think your parents would say your
generation doesn’t understand about them.
Class Design
If you and your friends could choose one new
class to add to the curriculum, what would
it be? Think of what would most help you in
your daily life or what would prepare you
for life after graduation. What kind of
assignments would be required, and how
would the class benefit students?
Boys and Girls
• Do you think men or women have an
easier time of things? Explain your
thoughts.
Time Traveler
• If you could go anywhere in the
world, at any time in the past or
future, where and to what time would
you go? What would you want to see,
and whom would you want to meet?
Explain.
Darkness and Light
• “Darkness cannot drive out the darkness;
only light can do that. Hate cannot drive
out hate; only love can do that.” – Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr.
• Dr. King was a pacifist and believed hatred
and prejudice could be fought with love.
Do you agree with him? Do you think that
in all situations a peaceful response is the
correct one?
Dinner Party
• If you could invite any three people
from any period in history to a dinner
party, whom would you invite?
Describe each person, and explain
why you chose him or her.
Love Is the Flower
• “Love is the flower of life, and blossoms
unexpectedly and without law, and must be
plucked where it is found, and enjoyed for the
brief hour of its duration.” – D. H. Lawrence
What is the first thing that comes to mind after
reading this quotation? How does it make you
feel? Whom or what does it make you think
about?
In the Attic
• You’re staying with your grandparents. One
day you venture up into the attic. Among
all the cobwebs, old clothes, and dusty
boxes you find a big old trunk. Curious you
open the lid…
• What would you like to find in the trunk
(besides money)? Would you want to find
something of monetary value? Would you
want to find the old journals of a distant
relative?
Time Capsule
• You are putting together a time capsule
that will be buried in your backyard for 50
years. The capsule is about the size of a
large suitcase. What would you put inside
the capsule? What would you want future
generations to know about today’s world?
What items best represent who you are?
What items best represent your place in
history?